Angelina Jolie has ovaries, fallopian tubes removed

Angelina Jolie says she has had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to prevent cancer.

The actress and filmmaker made the announcement Tuesday in an op-ed in The New York Times. She says a blood test showed a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, which gave her an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. She had a double mastectomy in 2013.

Jolie says she had the procedure done last week. She still has her uterus, adding that uterine cancer does not run in her family. Her grandmother, mother and aunt died of cancer.

She says she will look for ways to strengthen her immune system to prevent cancers.

Her husband, Brad Pitt, was in France when Jolie's doctors recommended she act sooner rather than later. He flew home immediately, according to Jolie's note in the Times.